RGBP Friday Five: Habits

All right, I'm a day late. Sorry 'bout that-- Stuff Happens.

1. Have you ever successfully quit a bad habit, or gotten a good habit established? Tell us about how you did it.

• I gave up caffeine. I mean, totally-- no tea (I never drank coffee but I consumed tea by the gallon), no caffeinated pop, no chocolate (which was, hands down, the absolute hardest part of the program). Headaches for days, and feeling sluggish all the time. . . but after a diagnosis of fibroid tumors, and a discussion of how they wax and grow fat on caffeine (especially at the levels I was used to consuming), I was motivated. I was totally abstemious for a couple of years. Now I will have an occasional bit of chocolate, or now and again a caffeinated beverage while I'm dining out, if it's lunchtime-- but I a) do not keep any at home; b) I will only have one; and c) I do not consume any after about 3:00 in the afternoon.

2. “If only there were a 12-step program for _________________!”

• Clutter. Holy moly-- I seem to fight it All. The. Time. And get nowhere.

3. Share one of your healthy “obsessions” with us.

• Currently: frozen fruit. Frozen red seedless grapes are a wonderful snack. I also keep a bag of blueberries in my freezer, and toss a handful in my cereal bowl every morning. I love that chilly combination of fruit and flakes and milk. Mmmm....

4. Share the habit of a spouse, friend or loved one that drives you C-R-A-Z-Y.

• I have a husband who is so fair-minded that almost any inquiry into a preference of his will illicit a response that begins "Well, it depends. . ." Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip, once offered an accurate translation of this phrase: "Abandon Ye All Hope of a Useful Answer."

5. “I’d love to get into the habit of ___________________.”

• Walking every day again. I did that during seminary-- and it was not hard, because I had a couple of friends who got up early and walked with me; we motivated one another. It felt great. Now, on my own, it's harder to get moving-- and there's always something else to do.

Bonus: What is one small action you might take immediately to make #5 a reality?

• Finish this post, and put on my sneakers!

Bonus 2: Try it, and let us know how it goes in a future post!

• Okey doke. Maybe making it public will help. . .